subject: Pancreas | Acidity Causes Damage For the Pancreas [print this page] In schools across the U.S., teachers use litmus paper tests to demonstrate the difference between acidity and alkalinity to elementary school students. But is the concept of acidity and alkalinity relevant in people's everyday lives? Yes, because every component of the human body has an essential pH level that is necessary for survival. Therefore people must encourage the proper pH levels in their bodies. So the human body constantly works to maintain the proper pH. This is difficult, because every single cell in the human body is living, breathing, and making waste. And these waste products tend to be acidic. There are several ways in which the body can become too dangerously acidic: if the body gets too much acidic food, if the cells manufacture too much acidic waste, or if the body cannot remove or neutralize these acids. If the acids cannot be neutralized or removed, then the cells are literally bathing in their own waste. This condition is called acidosis, or over-acidity. Acidosis erodes and eats into the cell membranes of the heart, arteries, and veins similar to the way that acid can slowly eat its way through some of the world's strongest materials, like marble or metal. Over-acidity causes many diseases, as well as premature aging, through slowly eroding and killing the body's cells. Acidity and the Pancreas Some parts of the body are naturally more alkaline than others. Highly alkaline glands like the pancreas and liver are the most susceptible to acidic damage. Pancreatic juice has a pH level between 7.8 - 8.0. Bile from the liver has a pH between 7.5 - 8.8. But when the acidity of the whole body becomes higher, pancreatic juices and bile also become more acidic. Acidic pancreatic juices and bile become destructive and irritate the surrounding tissues of the pancreas and liver, causing inflammation, stones, ulcers, and even cancer. Overly-acidic bile also causes reflux, or the backflow of bile through the pancreatic duct, up the small intestine, into the stomach, and up into the esophagus. Likewise, bile reflux affects the duodenum and stomach, causing inflammation, ulcers, and cancer. Acid reflux and bile reflux often appear together, further inflaming the lining of the esophagus and increasing the possibility of esophageal cancer. Another concern of high body overall acid toxicity is biliary pancreatic reflux, or when the bile backs up into the pancreatic duct. This back-up of bile may trigger an attack of acute pancreatitis and exacerbate the problems of chronic pancreatitis. Acidic bile is also thought to be a major factor in the development of gallbladder stones. Gallbladder stones can cause severe damage to the pancreas and liver through the blockage of pancreatic and bile ducts. When the blood becomes too acidic it is difficult for pancreatic cells to acquire the necessary minerals and bicarbonates essential to the production of sufficiently alkaline pancreatic juice. Without appropriately alkaline pancreatic juice many problems appear, such as: Food, Minerals, and a Healthy Pancreas Our contemporary diet is naturally acidic and therefore changes the body's pH balance towards an acidic state called metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis is becoming more and more prevalent as the standard American's diet moves away from naturally alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. A body becomes more acidic from a diet too high in acid-producing foods like meat, most dairy products, white flour, sugar, alcohol, refined vegetable oils, soft drinks, and coffee. Other factors that also contribute to the body's acidity include: stress, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, free radicals, chronic inflammation, and infection. As over-acidity becomes more prevalent, it is being recognized as a dangerous condition that weakens the entire body. To neutralize and dispose of high acidity, a body must borrow alkaline minerals from vital organs, bones, and muscles. These minerals are essential for good health, and include calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. When these necessary minerals and bicarbonates are leached from the pancreas, the pancreas becomes sick, causing irritation, inflammation, and even cancer. To help neutralize body over-acidity it is necessary for people to get more minerals and bicarbonates into their diet. These minerals and bicarbonates come from food, but they also come from healing mineral water. European Treatment for Pancreatic and Liver Disorders Europeans have been utilizing the curative properties of mineral waters for hundreds of years. European medical doctors are taught the benefits of Balneotherapy, or the science of the curative nature of mineral waters. Many Europeans are encouraged by their doctors to take "health vacations" to mineral hot springs resorts. At these resorts patients drink the healing mineral water from spring. They additionally eat a healthy diet, do daily exercises, and utilize acupuncture and colon hydrotherapy. One famous European mineral hot springs resort stands above the rest. The thermal mineral water from a small town of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic has been used medically for hundreds of years. Many European doctors and scientists have studied the special properties of the Karlovy Vary mineral water. In fact, many medical articles, dissertations, and books have been printed confirming the positive effect these healing waters have on pancreatic and liver disorders. Two hundred and fifty years ago a special evaporating method was developed to make salt from the Karlovy Vary thermal spring water. This method was a genuine breakthrough, as the Karlovy Vary Thermal Spring Salt was scientifically determined to have the identical healing properties of water taken directly from the spring's thermal source.
